


I've got time

by Itbat



Category: The Beatles (Band)
Genre: 1960s, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Multi, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-26
Packaged: 2019-07-25 04:59:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16190594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Itbat/pseuds/Itbat
Summary: Sasparilla Barker is a regular, newly 18-year-old girl. She loves to go out and party and drink like all other girls her age but one thing sets her apart: her love for a certain group of lads from Liverpool in the 60's. As a uni student in Liverpool, she often finds the time to go to the Cavern Club to hear her old favourites live (albeit from a much more substandard band) and rock out until the dawn, however, one night that doesn't go exactly how it should.





	1. Chapter 1

The club was booming with sound as she laughed loudly, the noise mixing with the music and diffusing into the crowd as her friend cringed from embarrassment.

"God, Emma, you're going to get us kicked out!" The first girl giggled .

"It's not like I tried to fall into him, Sass! And if you could just let it go, that'd be great - do I need to remind you of all the times you've looked an arse over the years?" Emma replied. Sass quieted her laughter but still maintained a smile.

" Ok, ok, I'll drop it. Don't worry. How much longer are these guys on for? " The pair had been in the old Cavern Club for a while now, drinking, dancing and having fun - things all teenagers do when first allowed out on the town - but neither had bothered to keep time much. The group on stage described themselves as a Beatles tribute band and even though she thought they were good, Sasparilla Barker would never accept them as anywhere close to the real thing. She'd grown up with the 1 album living in the CD player of her mum's car, she grew up singing along and following the harmonies and laughing about the outtakes and mistakes in the old recordings. She remembered when she first heard the other albums and how she'd cried over Yesterday and Blackbird; feeling the lovely tunes and lyrics wash over her and lamenting that she'd never get to see them play live thanks to her age. So, she had dragged Emma, her best friend, to the next best thing. She'd been here many times with her mother and she knew by now the warmth of the small space, the smoky and slightly damp aroma of beer and cigarettes through years of entertainment, the feel of the bass and drums in her bones. It usually filled her with excitement but tonight, the feeling was a little hollow, a little more nervous.

"I think they have about an hour left still ," Emma said. "Why? Do you want to go somewhere else?"

"No, " Sass replied quickly. "No, I just need some air is all. Didn't want to miss anything." She flashed what she hoped was a convincing grin before pushing through the crowd to the bathrooms. In all honesty, she'd been feeling pretty queasy and that feeling of unease wasn't going away. She hoped it was just stress or some sign of a cold but she didn't want to bring down Emma's night in any case.

Sass pushed through the throng of people, having to avoid numerous elbows and hands thanks to her short stature (a feature of herself she found difficult numerous times) before coming to a slow in the hall. As she approached the womens', a tall man exited the men's with a demeanour that made her halt.

She couldn't say exactly what it was, but something about the man felt off.

His tall frame was lanky and held poorly fitting jeans and a tatty waterproof coat that made his haggard face and shaggy hair even more intimidating. As he stalked closer, Sass glanced at the rolled paper smouldering in his hand. No wonder he seemed dodgy - smoking in buildings isn't even legal anymore and what he was smoking didn't smell like any normal cig. Now that she noticed it, Sass felt engulfed by the stench of the spliff. The cloying smell was like petrol mixed with cherry tart and something vaguely cologne-y, sikly sweet and sour as it wrapped around her, suffocating her and making her feel dizzy.

"Hey," he spoke in a surprisingly articulated manner. "I was just having a go, but this stuff doesn't seem to work for me. You want it?"

She felt so dizzy that Sass wasn't sure she could form a response but eventually, in the slow churning of her mind, she forced out the words.

"No...no thanks. I -I don't do that kind of...kind of stuff." She had smoked pot before, at a friend's when they were sixteen and bored of life without something a little unusual, but to take drugs from a stranger? No way. She'd never even taken a hard drug before, she'd heard countless horror stories of drug spikes and hospital trips. She swayed on her feet, leaning against the cool wall of the corridor and she felt an echo of panic ring through her bones as the man drew closer and closer to her face. The stench was overwhelming, making her head pound and she was swimming in the air around her as he came close to her ear.

"Well, I knew you would say that," he chucked. " Too bad it's too late for you. " Sass felt herself tremble in fear at his laugh and tried to detangle his words in her brain to process them but felt that even before he spoke, she knew there was something horribly wrong. The world faded away as her mind fell to blackness and she collapsed; the band still playing quietly in the back of her mind.


	2. Hangover from hell

As soon as Sass awoke, she immediately wished she hadn't.

  
She couldn't be sure of how much time had passed but she felt the heavy throb of her head meant it hasn't been long. However, as she came further into consciousness, Sass realised that there was something off: there was no noise. There was no sound of the band inside or of the people who should have been here. She would have felt panic if it weren't for the fact that her head was swimming and she could barely form coherent thought but at least that guy wasn't still here.  
As she slouched against the cool wall, Sass heard voices getting louder in the hall. They were distinctly male and Liverpuddlian but she guessed that didn't narrow it down much but as one of them laughed softly at what she assumed was a joke from another, she doubted they were as malicious as the guy who had been here last night. As they got louder, footsteps also arose through the smoke of her mind, carefree and casual, before coming to an abrupt halt right near her.  
"Hey, do you think that lass is alright?" One of them questioned cautiously.  
" Yeah, sure she is, she's just hanging out there waiting for her mate. " Another, drawling and more nasal voice replied sarcastically. Both voices seemed familiar but Sass couldn't place them despite her frustration, all she could gleam was that they were surprisingly soothing and comforting like a warm blanket thick with the scent of home. With concerning effort, Sass opened her eyes a crack. At first, her vision was blurry as a bat's but as it cleared, she was startled to see two men in dark suits with matching dark haircuts, one slightly taller than the other and neither older than their early twenties, and although she was no fashionista, even Sass could tell their get up was horrendously old fashioned. A thought struck her: the band. She must have somehow blacked out and woken up as the band were readying to leave. Although, that didn't explain why nobody had found her and moved her. She didn't want to assume too much of their friendship but she would hope Emma would at least look for her when she'd been gone for so long.  
"You alright, love?" The second, more sarcastic one, asked with a slight smile on his face.  
She squinted in an effort to form the words to tell him she felt like shit on a stick and had no idea what had happened to her beyond blacking out but that was too complex for her head to manage right now.  
"Um...no? " She spoke with a slight groan at the pain splintering her head. "What's...what's going on?"  
"Well, it's-" he looked at his watch. "God, 8:15 in the morning and you're sat like a hobo by the toilets of the Cavern Club. It's a good job you're moderately good looking-"  
"Alright, John, that's enough." The other cut in quickly. Sass almost laughed - almost because that would probably hurt a fuck ton. Did the members of the tribute really go by the original member's names? Fuck it, she thought, she'd go with it for now. But how was it 8:15 in the morning? And what was that "John" was saying about her being moderately good looking?  
"Look, is there anything you can remember about how you ended up here? It's not a problem if it was just a heavy night but it looks bad and we need to make sure-"  
"What he's trying to say is why are you sitting outside the bogs like a drowned rat?" John quipped whilst the other looked disapproving at his cutting in.  
"I-I don't know." Sass stuttered, finding words difficult. "I think someone drugged me."  
John and the other man glanced at each other with raised brows - as if asking each other what to do - before John shrugged.   
"Well, guess we can't leave you here, can we?"   
Her head pounded badly as the two men carefully hoisted her limp body with her arms over their shoulders and it was an effort to keep her head lifted to see where they were going. They made their way through the club slowly, the usual smell of smoke and beer strangely stronger than she remembered. More sour. The main space had cleared out ( unsurprisingly as it was 8 in the morning) and although that might have made the place look strange, Sass could feel something was different even considering that. Maybe it was just the circumstances and the way her head was being affected by whatever was in her bloodstream but she just couldn't shake the voice inside her saying something was wrong, wrong, wrong; ringing like a bell whenever her head hurt.  
"You must really have been drugged, eh?" John grunted as he shifted his upper body to better support her. "You're a dead weight"  
She winced in apology and tried to get her feet under her so she could walk but her whole body felt like it was moving in mud.   
"John! Leave her alone," the other man reprimanded then spoke softly to her. " I'm really sorry, you're not a problem, it seems like whoever did this did a nasty job. Just hold on. "  
"Way to make me sound like a nobhead, mate, I was only joking." John grumbled. Sass couldn't help herself but to giggle at that. John (or whatever his name really was, she wasn't stupid enough to believe that was actually his name) could be a little harsh but he was definitely funny, although, she did appreciate his friend's kind words. John looked to her with an amused lift of his brow and a slight smirk and winked - and she hated to admit the way it sent a warm feeling through her, even in her state.  
She only glimpsed the other man's face as he looked upwards, pleading, as if asking god for help, before she was blinded abruptly by a bright flash of light. She groaned at the spike of pain driven behind her eyes and she didn't miss John's stifled chuckle as they emerged onto the street. It took a minute for her head to stop hurting enough so she could open her eyes but when she did, she found herself too shocked to breathe.  
"Well, here we are," John sighed. " Now, can we take you to someone who'll look after you? "  
Sass knew that was impossible as she muttered.  
"Where are we?"

 


	3. Oh shit

"What?" The pair replied, confused.   
As Sass looked around, she realised that there was a reason everything felt different and wrong. It was. When she'd entered the Cavern the previous night, it had been surrounded by a bustling network of city skyscrapers and bright lights, fast cars and busy people. Now, it was crowded by old, red brick and limestone buildings that were nothing like the Liverpool she was used to. There were some buildings which remained familiar - churches and some of the old banks - but even they were alien in this landscape. If that wasn't enough, a glance at the people milling around, the men in suits and hats and women with beehive hairdos who gave her strange looks then hurried by, were a given that the club she'd walked into was not the one she'd just come out of. She became aware of how much fresher the air smelled and tasted as she slowly became overwhelmed by what was around her.

Where was she?

What had happened?

Was this all just a dream?

  
She realised that the pair holding her up had been waiting for her answer for a while and she found herself struggling for words yet again. The one to her left (who she had yet to learn the name of) was staring cautiously with a concerned furrowing of his brow whilst John (who she hadn't believed to actually be called John, but she was now not so sure) was becoming less amused and more worried moment by moment as she remained silent. Sass has no idea what to say. She honestly didn't know where they were but if this much was changed, she could assume she couldn't just go back to her little flat in the outskirts of the city centre.  
"I-I don't know...what's going on? Where are we?"  
She felt herself trying not to cry as she realised how much of a mess this was. John just signed through his nose and turned to the shorter man.  
"I guess whatever drug was used on her just have hit harder than we thought. Maybe it's better just to let her calm down and sleep it off somewhere safe until she can see what she remembers. How about we take her to the house and see if it's any better tomorrow. "  
"Are you sure, John? We don't really know her."  
"What, you don't trust her?" John teased.  
"Uh no-no! What I mean- oh you know what I mean, don't mess with me!" Paul started, flustered.  
John laughed at his friend's chiding and replied smoothly.  
"Don't worry, I'm sure she's not going to cause any harm - not when she can hardly stand up - and the neighbours can think what they want. Besides, they're pretty used to us bringing strange girls round by now, aren't they?." He finished with a sly grin and a wink.  
"Well, ok then, but don't be getting the wrong idea," the shorter man replied with a stern look that would have made Sass laugh if it weren't for the circumstances .

"I'll go and get the car, just wait there."

As he walked away to retrieve the car, despite the situation and shock she was in, Sass couldn't help but look to the man beside her. She hadn't had the time to study him before but now that she did, she was surprised at how handsome he was. It seemed as if every aspect of his face had been crafted meticulously, from his strong jaw and high cheekbones to the way his soft brown eyes offset the hard panes of his face. In short, Sass thought he looked quite like Elvis, although not with that bowlcut sat on his head. It wasn't just his looks that were attractive though. Already, Sass had found him to be funny in a very Northern way - blunt and sarcastic - but still seemed to have a caring nature in him to look after others. She couldn't believe he had offered to take her in when he didn't even know her but maybe that was proof of his kind nature - and his friend's too. Although, as he noticed she was staring and turned to her with a smirk, she wasn't sure his motives were all that clean-cut.  
"Enjoying the view?" He asked, an amused glint in his eye. Sass blushed and stuttered, trying to cover up her moment of embarrassment.  
" I-I ...no! I was looking at...At the building behind you! " She inwardly cringed. Had she been in a better state, she would have made a quick joke and forgot about it but her head just wasn't working that way at the moment.  
"What? You mean that newsagents? Ah, very interesting," he mocked. "I can get you closer if you're that intrigued by it."  
Not wanting to be shown up, Sass agreed, and they ambled a little further down the street, her finding it a little easier to support her weight now so John was able to walk a bit easier. As they neared, she could only say that the newsagents _**was**_ interesting - it looked vintage. There was no sign of the cheap tabloids and rows of gum behind the counter, no dodgy 10p scratchcards, the newspapers were all in black and white; even the daily mail was almost unrecognizable. Scanning the papers, she finally found the date:

**23rd April 1963**

She gasped audibly and John glanced at her with surprise in his features. She only just caught the end of another joke of his but she was too far in shock to register what he'd said. It took a minute for him to catch on that she was genuinely in shock and in that time, her mind had thankfully caught up also. Sass wasn't sure what exactly going on - she was sure time travel just a concept of TV shows and sci-fi novels and that science had proven it to be impossible but how did that explain what she was experiencing? This was all too elaborate to be some sort of prank (not that she knew anyone who cared that much to go to the effort) so the only option left was that this was a dream...only, this didn't _feel_ like a dream.  
Regardless of whether the situation was real or not, Sass had read those sci-fi novels and watched those TV shows and if there's anything she learned from them, it was that you didn't mess with time. She didn't want to take the chance (even if it seemed little to none) that this was real and ruin the future so she tried to mask her surprise as best she could and point out something in the headlines instead.  
"L-look!" She pointed at the most shocking paper she could see.  
" Oh, " John replied. "'man stabbed and killed in back alley' - that happens all the time here, it's sad but surely this isn't the first time you've seen it?"  
Sass shook her head. "No, but look at how horrible it was." An idea quickly came to mind. "And I'm pretty sure I knew him - he looks familiar."  
She hoped that would stop him asking about it - since normal people would try and steer around that point of conversation - but John opened his mouth to ask something else and she inwardly groaned. He wasn't normal. Thankfully, at that moment, the car pulled up. The driver popped his head out of the window with a slightly annoyed look.  
"John, I thought I told you to stay in front of the club." He sighed in exasperation .  
"Sorry, ran into some fans and had to make a daring escape." John excused with a smirk and a wink whilst opening the door for her. However, as she turned to get into the car, she could've sworn she saw him narrow his eyes at her from the corner of her eye. He wasn't buying it. At least he wasn't stupid. By the time he went to get into the car, that amused mask was back on his face and he quipped to his friend before getting in.  
"Hey, could I drive, at least? You're making me look a right girl."  
"Unless you've got your specs in that suit," the other chuckled. "No chance. We've don't want to kill- hey, sorry, I don't think we got your name? "  
John's friend seemed surprised and a little sheepish that he didn't know her name and John winced a little at the realisation he hadn't asked. Sass wasn't sure for a minute whether to use her real name or not but she didn't want to pause too long should John get suspicious and she supposed she'd do more damage trying to lie convincingly.  
"Sasparilla Barker," she spoke confidently enough to cover the slight squeak in her voice and hoped neither man would notice. "But people call me Sass for short."  
"Jesus," John exclaimed. "That's a long one - your folks aren't from Liverpool, are they?"  
"Actually, I'd say Jesus is pretty short but don't call me that." She actually got a couple of laughs from that one and she was happy to see her mental functions were returning slowly. "And, no, they come from Cumbria, further north."  
"Ooh, look at you, no wonder you're from up there, you're a right smart arse." John drawled. The other only laughed more.  
"Don't worry, Sass, if he gets out of line, just tell me and I'll sort him out." The driver said and she could see him smiling in the rear-view mirror. "I'm Paul, by the way."  
She managed to contain her surprise this time, although it wasn't as severe. After all, whether this was reality or a dream, it was a given that Paul would be in the same place as John. She couldn't say if they both looked exactly like the John and Paul she'd seen in photos before - they were in black and white, after all - but she could say for definite that John wasn't the only one who was handsome. Whereas John's features were all straight lines and hard edges, Paul's were much softer and held a feminine beauty that seemed to bring out his lightness and carefree spirit. As she studied him in the mirror, she was drawn to his eyes. They were a lighter brown than John's and flecked with green and gold and they sparkled with good humour and quiet wisdom. The pair seemed like two sides of the same coin: John's dark intrigue and Paul's bright kindness - the moon and sun. She was broken out of her thinking by the feeling of eyes on her. She carefully turned so as not to hurt her head any more than it already was and found a certain sarcastic man gazing at her curiously. She felt her face heat up momentarily in the brief silence before he spoke.  
"How are you feeling now? He asked slowly.  
"My head's still killing me but I don't feel quite as shit now - could pass for just a heavy night."  
John chuckled at that.  
"I must admit, I've had my fair share of rough arse mornings when I've woken up feeling dead - sometimes not even knowing where I am." He laughed and Paul quickly joined in, launching into stories of their past and wild nights in the town to heavy benders in back yards and Sass had to say that she was mildly surprised. She'd guessed that John would be a heavy drinker and a big party-goer but some of the stories she heard about Paul made her pause in her assumption of him being the more boyish of the two. She laughed along with all of them and even pitched in with a short anecdote or two of her own - enough to converse easily but not enough to cause questions - and before the trio knew it, they had arrived at a small, terraced house on one of Liverpool's many backstreets. Sass felt nervous even before Paul turned the engine off. Even if this was just going to stay with complete strangers, she would be anxious, but when it was supposedly the house of the legends Lennon and McCartney...well, she was shitting bricks by the time the pair came to help her up out of the vehicle.

"Well, here we are," John sighed. "Welcome to our humble abode."  
"By humble abode, he means a house of three lads who have only just moved out, so sorry for the mess in advance." Paul said with an apologetic smile.   
"Oh, no worries!" Sass chuckled. "Thank you for offering, although, who is the third lad here?"  
"Oh! That'd be-"  
"Ringo's the name." A short young man appeared from the doorway that none of them had noticed had opened. Just like the pictures she'd seen, he was adorable, his large nose was not out of place on his face and she disagreed with the teasing she'd heard about it - he suited it really. And his mischievous personality was evident in his wide smile and large gestures as he took her hand into his and kissed it.  
"Sorry to leave you with the peasants, milady. I would be honoured to know your name, if such a beauty would offer it."  
"Hey, Ringo, you'll scare her off with your beak in her face." John laughed, although it wasn't without an edge , and nudged his shoulder playfully.  
"This is Sass, she's gonna be staying with us for now." Paul explained. Ringo raised his brows - an expression she was getting pretty sick of at this point - and Paul shook his head before pulling him aside to explain fully. John led her into the house, the feel of his warm body next to hers made it difficult to keep a flush off her face; she was pretty sure he didn't need to help her walk anymore but she wasn't going to tell him that. She glanced back to see Ringo with brows furrowed in seriousness as Paul spoke with him and felt a bit sorry for him - she was sure this must be a pain when he wasn't even there to know how reliable her story was it pitch in on the decision. She would definitely be trying to make this up to them.   
She realised what they said - the 'three' of them - meant that George, the lead guitarist, must not live here. After a little bit of planning what to say (she couldn't just outright ask, after all), she managed to find the words.  
"What do you guys do then?"  
"Oh, funny you should ask that," John rubbed the back of his neck in an embarrassed gesture which made him look much younger. "Y'see, the reason we all live together is because we're all in a band."  
Sass feigned sounds of surprise and interest to maintain her façade of ignorance and, if she was honest, she felt pretty guilty for doing so but it was unavoidable if she didn't want to be accused of stalking or anything.  
"Oh, yeah, we're actually a 4-man gig but our other guy is still living with his parents. Poor kid, he felt so left out when he couldn't move in with us but his folks weren't overly keen on his being babysat by us - and we weren't either to be honest." They laughed and she marvelled at the musicality of it before chiding herself. She couldn't get too swept up in this, she didn't even know much about these boys beyond the music and bare facts of their lives, she couldn't let herself fall that far. Even if this was a dream, she'd have to wake up.  
Having sobered a little after her chat with herself, Sass let herself be led into the house. Despite what Paul had warned, it was reasonably clean and tidy. The hall held a small line of four pegs, on which hung a few old waterproofs and a set of keys, and a shoe rack containing multiple pairs of various boots and shoes. All pretty normal. She could see through to the kitchen and lounge area and saw that, although badly furnished in the opinion of someone from half a century in the future, were also as tidy as a regular family home and smelled faintly of coffee and cologne. It wasn't until she looked to the walls that she realised this wasn't just a regular old home.   
There were pictures everywhere. Paintings, sketches, ink drawings and even a few abstract pieces of multimedia were spotted about the walls like a huge dot-to-dot and Sass couldn't help but wonder what would be discovered when you joined them up. She stopped by one that caught her eye immediately. A huge and colourful abstract piece, she couldn't be sure but it looked to her like a beautiful face caught between ecstasy and anguish, she felt herself resonate with it; that eternal pull between all that is good and bad in life in full Technicolor. 

"Where did you get this?" She asked softly.

"Oh, that, " he replied with a nonchalant shrug. "It's an original."  
Sass gaped at him openly. She knew John had done artworks but never anything like this. All she'd seen of them were the small pen drawings from just before he died and none of them had drawn such an emotional response from her.   
"It's amazing." She gasped.

"You think so?" He questioned genuinely. "I guess I should've stayed in art school if someone would actually like the stuff I made."

"Has nobody told you that?" She was even more stunned no one has complemented his art when it was so moving and futuristic.

  
"Nobody who's opinion really mattered to me."

The sincerity in his expression both sent butterflies fluttering through her and made her heart stop dead in her chest. He wasn't joking. He had just met her and already, he thought her opinion was worth more than the opinions of most people he'd known for years. She was simultaneously flattered and terrified by that prospect. She hadn't considered the possibility of someone else wanting to get close to her - that would complicate matters of this was reality - and she'd never been in the position of having someone she'd just met be this honest and open about their opinion in this way. She would have to be more careful, she thought.

"Hey, we've sorted out Ringo's room for you tonight. I hope you don't mind." Paul spoke softly, probably to avoid aggravating her headache any more than necessary, and she was more than grateful.

"Oh, thank you very much!" She smiled a tad shyly and looked behind him to where she'd seen Ringo go into the living room.

"Thank you, Ringo!" A quiet 'no problem, love' was heard from beyond the door and she quieted her voice.

"Are you sure he doesn't mind?"

"Oh, no, he volunteered it himself. He would never leave a damsel in distress." Paul chuckled. John was unusually quiet beside her and wore a strange expression that wavered between relief and annoyance. She was about to ask him if anything was up when Paul piped in her again.

"Ah right, I almost forgot that you probably haven't had much sleep," Sass could've collapsed right now if she was honest but she'd kept herself standing more out of panic and politeness than anything else.

"I can take you up to the room now if you'd like and you can have a good sleep - see if you feel any better afterward?"

"That would be great, thanks."

"Ok, just give me a sec and-"

"Oh, there's no need, Paul," John spoke a little harshly and broke her out of her reverie. "I'll take her to the room, especially if you're gonna piss about and keep her waiting."

Paul looked shocked and a little hurt at his outburst and Sass felt the overwhelming urge to find a way to comfort him but there was no way to do that without choosing to go against John. She stood frozen as seconds ticked by, anxiously waiting for something to happen whilst Paul's face fell more from shock and hurt to confusion and concern. This must be out of the ordinary for his friend.

"Oh..." He said softly. " Ok then, I'll be in the kitchen. "

As she watched him go, she felt more than saw John sign in exasperation and regret. His shoulders slumped and he rubbed his hand across his face aggressively; as if trying to remove that moment from time.

"I shouldn't have spoken to him like that." He muttered quietly. "He didn't deserve that. "

Sass remained in awkward silence painfully. She didn't want to tell him outright but he was correct. Paul did nothing to deserve that in her eyes and she was worried about how hurt he'd looked but at least John had realised he'd done wrong and would try to fix it. He turned to her slowly, taking a deep breath that seemed more like a preparation than a relief.

"Let's get you to bed then."

Those words might have been the best she'd heard all day.

"Ok,"  
they made their way up the stairs and into the second room on the right. It was sparsely decorated and only small but it was clean and seemed surprisingly well looked after for a rock star. The walls held a poster of an old gig from Hamburg, Germany and an aged wardrobe with a suit hanging on the outside - obviously a spare band uniform. However, the most alluring thing in that room by far was the plain single bed that she longed to collapse into. John disappeared for a second with a muttered 'one sec' and returned with a large white tee and a pair of soft shorts.

"I don't know how well these will fit but it's better than sleeping in your clothes." He said softly. "Just put your clothes outside and we'll wash them up." 

Before she could thank him, John was out of the door. Sass sighed. Today had been a hard one and she was sure there were more ahead if this wasn't a dream like she hoped. She changed her clothes, relishing the feel of the clean shirt (definitely not because it smelled of him), and opened the door to put the clothes out before climbing into bed.  
She had hoped to have a think through everything and sort out her plan for the next day but as soon as she lay her head down, Sass could feel herself drifting off, although she could have sworn she saw a tall, handsome man linger longingly in her doorway until she did

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case anyone was wondering: yes. This chapter is longer than my A-level English coursework. Am I ashamed? A little.


End file.
